Party Time
by gAbber95
Summary: The main team get to have a break from work and decide to make the most of it! Set after season 5, rated T just in case. Jecker/Conby/Memily
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there! **

**So this is my first ever Primeval fanfiction. It might be a bit odd in some parts because of that, but try not to worry about it. And I had trouble with the name, it's kind of silly I think…I don't really have anything to say except please read it, and reviews will encourage me to write more!**

_**I don't own Primeval or any of the characters.**_

Becker paused to wipe the sweat out of his eyes with the back of his left hand, the other firmly wrapped around an EMD. The team had been out in the field for nearly five hours now, chasing something that Connor had, full of excitement, told them was named _Compsognathus. What _was so fascinating about these Jurassic rats had escaped Becker. To him they were just plain irritating, with their birdlike strut and chattering calls to one another. It had been bad enough that a whole herd of them had spilled through the anomaly after they called for a new locking device to replace their malfunctioning one, and Becker mentally kicked himself for not bringing a replacement. They could all be at the ARC by now. Spying one of the creatures, the Captain swiftly brought his finger to the EMD's trigger and fired a shot. The kick of the electrical weapon felt good, but the _Compsognathus _was long gone. Damn these reptiles! They may have been preferable to the T-Rex that had wrecked the city centre, but were quick, and just as recognizable as dinosaurs, should they escape the warehouse where the anomaly had opened.

"Get a grip Becker, you can do better than that". Abby was grinning at him from the end of a long aisle of cardboard boxes. As soon as the team realized no dangerous creatures were coming through, the mood had lightened. "I just got my seventh one, soon you are going to owe me and regret it." With that, she disappeared around the corner, deeper into the orderly labyrinth of piled containers. The muffled sound of her EMD echoed out to him. Becker sighed. He should _never _have made a bet with her to see who shot more of the skittering creatures. With determination, the Captain started after the creature he'd missed.

He found the reptile in a dead end, chewing through a box to get at the vegetables inside (cucumbers, if the label was to be trusted). When it saw Becker, the creature gave a squak of annoyance, which was cut short as the electric charge slammed into its small body. Squatting down beside the dinosaur, he raised a finger to his earpiece. "We're clear in the south quadrant, as far as I know", he spoke. Becker was sick and tired of chasing dinosaurs and wanted to get back to the ARC and relax. After their near brush with world-ending catastrophe, everyone was in need of a break. He mused over putting in replacements and giving a proper holiday for the whole team. Becker could do that. He _was _Head of Security, after all.

"_Emily and I are clear_", Matt's voice crackled over the coms. "_Heading back to the trucks. Good work guys, let's get going. Connor, have you locked the anomaly and secured the area?_" After a short pause, the computer genius answered. "_Done and done. Though I think the former is in our dear Captain's job description, not mine." _Becker let out a sarcastic laugh and started walking towards what he hoped was the entrance to the vast building, carrying the stunned _Compsognathus _under an arm. "Next time, you chase the dinosaurs." Connor was still sometimes plagued by a nasty cough, result of the sandstorm he had been caught in when he was visiting the future, and Abby didn't want him running around yet. "_Becker, sometimes I fear you spend too much time with Lester_", he chortled in amusement. "Yeah whatever Connor. Get ready to leave, I want to get back quickly." The Captain only realized his mistake when the geek spoke again. "_Ooooh, it wouldn't have anything to do with seeing sweet Jess_ _again as soon as possible? What if she's been attacked by beetles again? It must have been such an experience to carry her all through the ARC and everywhere that– hey, there you are – _

Connor's words were cut short when he and Becker came face to face, and the Captain punched him in the shoulder. "Oww! That hurt mate!" he exclaimed. Becker ignored the fact that he did not seem to be hurting at all, and brushed past him out the door and into the black four-by-four waiting outside. Emily was already at the wheel. "Hey, do you even know how to drive one of these?" Becker asked her. Even if she didn't, there wasn't much he could do to stop the Victorian-era woman – Emily was known to do what she wanted, and she didn't take orders from anybody. "Matt's been teaching me", she said confidently, just as the team leader piled into the back of the car. "All right, let's get going. Abby and Connor are taking the other truck." "Thank God", Becker muttered, as Emily started the engine. Matt just grinned. He knew exactly what Connor must have said to make the Captain so moody.

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

Jess Parker lounged in her comfortable red chair before the Anomaly Detection Device, or ADD, watching the blinking red dots that were the team moving towards her on the roadmap. With the long and tiresome _Compsognathus_ incident, it would be good to have her friends around her again. Every time they went out into the field was a test of nerves for her, not knowing if they would all be coming back. Luckily the tension had dropped back to normal after New Dawn and Helen Cutter's plans were destroyed. She had never been so scared for the people who had become her best friends.

A message popped up on one of the screens, startling Jess from her daydreaming. She raised a finger to her earpiece. "Matt, we've got a traffic jam up your street. Hang a right after about 200 meters, then left onto Stropper's Road and then back to the main street. That should get you out of the worst of it." She expanded the com link to everyone else as well, so that anyone in the second car would get the message too. Matt's amused Irish accent came into her ear. "_I'm not driving; Emily is._" Jess could hear quiet laughter from the background, as well as very loud music. "What?" she exclaimed, laughing herself. "Don't get yourselves killed out there. _"Not planning on doing that anytime soon_", Becker's voice echoed amiably through the coms. "_I didn't chase those lizards all around a warehouse, just to have Emily crash my car._" Jess felt a flutter in her heart, and she blushed despite herself at the handsome Captain's voice. "Well, good. Now get over here quick, I'm bored and want some company! Coffee's ready too, if anyone wants it." She pretended not to hear Connor teasing Becker.

She had thought her feelings for the seemingly stoic man were so one-sided! Who had thought he would be so worried about her when she got that allergic reaction? Jess herself didn't remember much of the night the future beetles had invaded the ARC, but Connor had been quick to fill her in on how Becker had carried her through half the building, and ran to get her adrenaline even though the ARC had just been swept by deadly gamma radiation. She felt irritated with herself. She had passed out in _Becker's _arms! If only she knew how to thank him without making a fool out of herself...

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

Matt stepped out of the car, still reeling from their wild car ride through the streets. He had never thought Emily would get so excited about driving the four-by-four. She had been positively thrilled at the sight of all those techy nobs, and her foot never let off the gas pedal. The radio was booming the whole trip, earning angry looks from pedestrians. So much for their "professional control" image that Lester was always ranting about.

Matt could see Becker scrambling out of the front seat. The younger man looked disgruntled, and his knuckles were white from clutching the carseat's arms. The team leader laughed silently to himself. They had finally found something Becker feared, besides Jess getting hurt. Emily, of course, was beaming. There was nothing she liked so much as action. _She's so beautiful, _Matt thought, sighing happily. At least this time she was here to stay. He looped his arm around her waist as the second car pulled up, and they all headed for the ARC.

"If you'll all just give me your black boxes", Jess called out as the team congregated around her. Matt handed his over, glad the mission was over. Abby confronted Becker. "Captain, you owe me 3 pounds for being a worse shot than me." Connor was aghast. "You made a bet for three pounds? _Three pounds_?" "Becker's not great at taking risks", his girlfriend said simply, smiling and accepting the money from a grumbling Becker. "This is what you get for using a handy, small gun instead of the big heavy one." Abby leaned on Jess's desk and yawned widely, exhaustion catching up on her. "You guys all know how I love chasing dinosaurs and what-not, but I really, _really _need a break. A proper one", she said. Becker's dark eyes lit up. "I was just thinking about that back there-" he started. "Thinking? When you should have been shooting those creatures? Your really losing your touch mate", Connor interrupted. Becker scowled. "Shut UP Temple. Anyway, I was thinking that I could find some replacements for us for, say, a couple weeks or something, and we could have a little holiday time. Just us." They all considered that. "Sounds good to me", Matt replied. "I could use some time off myself". "But we have to get together at some point!" Jess exclaimed. "I don't know what I'd do if I wouldn't see you all for weeks! It would feel all...wierd." Connor frowned. "You'd see me and Abby all the time…" he said, making Jess squirm. Matt winked at Connor, who grinned back.

"Emily? What do you think?" Matt asked the woman at his side. "How would you like a little time off work?" Emily mulled over the question. "It sounds nice. But I _like _working here, and being with you and all the others. Jess is right, we make a good team, and I don't feel like we should all be separated for weeks. Who has the biggest flat here?" Matt considered her for a moment. "Jess. Connor and Abby are living with her, it's quite fancy. And big too. Why?" he asked with curiosity. Emily was clearly planning something. "Why don't we all move in with them for a bit? Live together like a big family, forget about the anomalies for a while?" she suggested. "And anyway…" she leaned closer to whisper in his ear. "We have it all planned out with Connor, since he heard a certain Head of Security telling Jess he needed a break. He's been waiting for ages for an opportunity to get Becker in her flat". They both laughed at that, and Emily grinned evilly, earning a glance from the Captain. "What's so funny?" he asked. "Well", Matt said, still smiling, "you'd better start arranging those replacements. It seems like we're all going to be flatmates".

**Thanks a bunch for reading! Planning on lots of Jecker/Conby/Memily sweetness in the future :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ookay, here's chapter 2. I wasn't really sure what to do with the end. I like the start though :) and I'll inform you now that my writing just doesn't like to be made short, so there will probably be quite a lot of chapters to this story :D **

Abby watched with her hands on her hips and a slight smile as the petite brunette hurricane that was her friend Jess tore around their flat, arranging things and re-arranging them and then putting it all back where it had been. "I can't believe Connor did this! They're staying in _our _flat! It's a mess! What'll they think of me when they see this?" She was having a hard time accepting that the whole ARC team would be holing up at the flat for who knew how long. Abby personally didn't mind; she knew Emily was great to live with, and Becker and Matt were like brothers to her. That was really all that mattered. What she _was _slightly worried about was how all three guys would manage to share the spare bathroom without blowing the place up.

Connor chose that moment to appear at the head of the stairs and answer Jess's question. "Oh you mean what Becker'll think? I'll be sure to tell him how worried you were", the geeky computer tech teased while fetching a cup of coffee from the machine. He was answered by a pillow flung at him from across the room, which he tried and failed to duck. Coffee spilled all over the counter. Abby retrieved the cushion and set it back on the couch, grabbing Jess's arm as the younger woman attempted to spin away again. "Jess", she said, "it'll be _fine_. The flat's tip top, I can't find anything to complain about and neither will the others." She carefully kept the subject away from Becker. "Anyway, if they have something to say about a mess…well, we'll just blame it on Connor. Nobody will find that hard to believe", she grinned. Jess seemed tense for a moment, then she relaxed and smiled as well. "I suppose your right Abby." "Hey!" called Connor, who was mopping up the coffee. "I resent that accusation! I lead a completely ordinary and uninteresting life – "…save fighting dinosaurs and being the known reason of so many broken and missing things, most of which happen to be _mine?_" Abby challenged playfully. "I love you too Abs", Connor replied. Jess laughed at the pair's everyday bickering. _Success_, Abby thought to herself. She grabbed a ponytail to tie up her blonde hair, one of Jess's bright purple ones. "Alright guys, let's get to work. Last day! By evening this place is gonna seem even more crowded then it is now."

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

Shooting a proper gun was a lot harder then the EMDs she was used to, Emily Merchant decided as she stood with her legs braced apart at the end of the ARC's firing range. The kick was more powerful, and it was so different shooting live rounds than electrical bursts. The truth was, it felt good. Now she understood why Becker spent so much time here. There was nothing but the red target paper at the end of the range, the small lethal weapon she held, and the steadiness of her own hands. Emily shot every bullet in the pistol, then lowered it onto the shelf before her. "Clear!" she called.

"You might get more shots in if the target was nearer you know." Emily whipped around at the sound of Matt's voice. She hadn't even noticed him watching her appraisingly, leaning on the doorframe. He entered the room, and she removed her ear mufflers. "How would I get any better then? she challenged. "Come on", Matt said, smiling. "Lester told me to look through those reports from the last mission, I'd rather do it with you." He put his arm around her shoulder, kissed her hair, and the man from the future and woman from the past exited the room together.

"Matt?" Emily asked, looking up from the report in front of her. "What do people of the twenty-first century do during holidays? When I was living in my time, my job was to act the rich lord's lady. There was never really time to…relax, not truly." Matt thought for a minute. "Well, as far as I know, they spend time with their friends, watch movies, drink a little… pretty much anything they want, really. That's what holiday's for. And we'll be spending it at Jess's place, which should be interesting". He winked at her slyly.

At that moment, Lester walked into the room. "Ahh, Matt, Emily. Wonderful to see someone doing some work around here for a change. Connor seems to have started spring break early, judging by the fact that he's robbed Jess of her chair and is currently watching "Star Wars episode V" off one of the ADD's screens. Anything out of the ordinary?" Matt shook his head. "All's in order here". "Good, good. So I hear you're all spending your holiday together? Isn't the idea of holiday to, you know…get away from it all?" Emily laughed. "And when did _you _last have a holiday, Lester?" she asked, amused at the thought of the civil servant sprawling in a beach chair under palm trees, sipping coconut milk. "Why, _someone_ has to stay here and keep you lot in order. And I've looked down the list that Captain Becker's signed up for replacements. No break for the boss, I'm afraid!" Matt smiled crookedly. "Come on Lester, join us!" Emily had to hold back a laugh. The look on Lester's face was priceless. "I think I'll pass, thank you very much", he said with heavy sarcasm, and strode out the room, leaving the two chortling. "He loves us", Emily said. "He just doesn't want to show it."

It took them half an hour to sort through the reports, phone the company that owned the warehouse to explain why it had been closed for nearly six hours, and generally clear up their mess. After that they cleaned out the filing cabinets and put all the important papers in order, shredding the rest. (It was inevitably a part of Lester's nature to horde his paperwork, and their job to get rid of it). There really wasn't much else to do. Emily began to fidget with the reports and make paper airplanes, the way one of the soldiers had taught her. Who could ever have imagined that the last day of work could be so boring?

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

Connor's day, however, was far from dull so far. After claiming the ADD for himself when Jess took a break to stretch her legs, he had launched into the fifth Star Wars movie, having fallen asleep before he could watch it the night before. By noon, he had enraged Lester by having a sandwich and soda in the lab, broken a microscope, and was now skateboarding through the ARC in search of his friends, bumping into the occasional scientist. It had been too long since they last had an anomaly-free day. He wondered what fun the others were up to.

"Guys, seriously? _Reports_? Lester's god of paperwork, just give it all to him. That's what I did." Connor had been amused to see Matt sitting at the table, pouring over the latest anomaly incident while Emily chucked paper planes at his head when he wasn't looking. "Yeah Connor, and we can see how happy he is with you now", the team leader said, looking up from the paper in his hands and leaning back in his chair. "Actually, on second thought, who cares. It's all going in the shredder one day anyway." Emily stood up. "Can we leave now?" Matt checked his watch. "We've got a couple hours to go still, then we can get home and pack for Jess's", he informed her. "Connor, have you actually got anything useful to do now?" The computer tech pretended to think for a minute. "Umm, no." "Well get to the armory and help Becker clean and oil the guns. Keep them in good shape for those poor guys who have to take over our jobs." Connor feigned shock. "Cleaning guns? With action man? Grab a brain Matt, and just shoot me now. It'll save me endless pain and trouble", he said. Once, he might have grabbed at an opportunity to visit the armory and play around with the weapons there, but now it wasn't all that exciting anymore. Though with Becker there, alone… Connor's eyes glazed over at the endless possibilities. But he shook his head at Matt. "I'm going to visit Abby at the menagerie", he informed. He wasn't ready to pay for teasing Becker about Jess by being shot with an EMD. With that, he skateboarded away.

Before going to the menagerie, though, Connor popped in at the Hub. There, as he knew he would, he found Jess before the ADD. She frowned as he bounced into sight, still a little angry with him for sidelining her from her place at the controls. "What now?" she asked. Connor grinned. "Just came to see if you could spare a screen…" He fled the room at the sight of Jess's murderous expression, heading in high spirits for the menagerie where Abby was sure to be. There was nothing better to do during an eventless day at work than bother your workmates.

"Hey Abby! How's it going?" Connor called after clearing the airlock. His girlfriend was tending Sid, plucking dried scales from the healthy ones. "Here Connor, hold him for a bit while I clean out the rest of these scales. The little imp just won't stop struggling", she said as a greeting. Connor obediently grabbed the Diictodon around the middle while Abby worked. He stared at her the whole time. Watching Abby work with animals was fascinating. Watching Abby do anything was fascinating.

She was finished in just a few minutes, and they deposited Sid back into the menagerie with Nancy and Rex. The mammoth trumpeted at them from across the room. Abby put her small plucking device into a cupboard, then leaned over and gave Connor a kiss. "Sorry about that. I was supposed to do a once-over on all the creatures, because there'll be nobody to care for them, otherwise than to give food, while I'm away. What's been up with you all day?" she asked. Connor tilted his head from side to side. "Oh, you know… this and that". Abby sighed. "Been bothering Lester again?" She knew him so well. "No! Well yes… but it's irresistible, really!" Connor said, seeing her raise an eyebrow. He pulled her close beside him. "Come on Abs, let's go see what the others are up to".

It had been a surprisingly short day at the ARC, Connor mused as they drove home with Abby and Jess. Lester had experienced a burst of goodwill, promising they could all take the last hour off as long as Connor didn't cause havoc and re-arranged the filing cabinets. As it turned out, Matt and Emily had just finished doing that, so they were free to go. Only Becker had to stay behind and brief his soldiers about how the missions were to be handled, and show them how to operate the ADD properly. Connor almost felt sorry for his workmate. Almost. His thoughts turned to sharing his personal flat space with the Captain, Matt, and the girls… and he grinned. If he just played his cards right, there could be a lot to gain from this holiday…

**So that's that! If you have any kind of name suggestions for this story, please let me know! (Though there is going to be a party at some point, that much I've decided.) Anyways, I hope you liked it, and in the next chapter the others get to have a taste of living in the Parker/Temple/Maitland residence… hee hee :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3! I tried separating the lines a bit more in this one, to make it a little easier to read. This was fun to write, please read and tell me what you think! :)**

The piercing sound of the doorbell rang through her flat.

Jess was up off the couch and down the flight of stairs before the rings so much as had a chance to die down. She had been practically bouncing off the walls since they came home from work together with Abby and Connor. Dinner had been made (steaks with a peppery sauce, since everyone liked that), the countertops wiped down until you could see your reflection in them, and Connor had even agreed to fix the microwave he had broken last week. He had been suspiciously nice and polite to her all afternoon. Jess wondered what the guy was up to.

"Heeyyy!" she gushed as the white-painted door swung open. It had begun to rain outside, big fat drops falling from the sky. Matt and Emily stood on the doorstep, with duffel bags in tow, still mercifully dry. "Come on in!"

"Good to see you again Jess", Matt said, smiling and grabbing Emily's bag too. The older woman hugged her, even though they had only been apart for a couple of hours. Jess felt her heart warm as she pulled Emily close. They had become such good friends since their first meeting. And now she was going to spend a whole vacation with her friend!

Matt was already lugging the bags up the staircase, and Jess heard Connor and Abby's greetings from in front of the TV where she had been sitting with them a few minutes ago. "Here mate, put those in our room. Me' n Abby are gonna be bunking in on the sofa, this big one in front of the TV. Cool screen, ain't it? We're watching a movie tonight…" Connor's voice could be heard saying.

Emily was impressed with the flat. "These light colors are lovely! They make the place seem so much larger and airier. It's much like our flat, but still somehow different. I told Matt once that his place lacked a woman's touch, and it _still _does." Jess laughed. "One of the many hazards involved in living with a man, I bet. Lucky I have Abby, we rule with tyranny over Connor. And it's "our flat" now?" She switched on the radio, knowing how Emily had come to love fast-paced party music. She just smiled slyly. Jess showed the Victorian woman around the large main room, also pointing out the respective bedrooms and the "girls bathroom".

Jess, Connor and Abby had recently invested in a new hot-water tub for the larger bathroom, for which Lester had made them do a month of over-time work. "I imagined we'd all be happy with the bigger one, with the guys sharing the spare toilet. It's not like their stuff takes a lot of space." Jess herself had a wide arsenal of creams, make-up and perfumes which took up much of the mirrored cupboards circling the walls. Abby wasn't far behind concerning beauty products either.

Emily frowned. "I don't have much with me either." She sought out her toilet bag, and as it turned out she had only her toothbrush, toothpaste, and a few other necessities. Jess's eyes widened. "Another problem with living in the same house as Matt. We really have to go out shopping soon!"

"I think I'd enjoy that", Emily said, giggling. "Just the girls, and the guys can go out to the pub or something and gossip all about us. Or about when you and Becker will get together. You're the only singletons here now". Jess grew bright red. "Emily!"

Emily smiled again. Don't worry, I'm not hurrying you or anything. What else should we do while we stay here?" she asked, changing the subject. Jess turned a normal color once again.

"Well, we _absolutely _have to go eat somewhere! I know this place along my road…"

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

Becker cursed.

He cursed the rain, beating against the windshield of his truck.

He cursed having to stay at the ARC late today.

And he cursed Connor Temple's brainless plans.

How was he supposed to survive for weeks in Jess's flat? It was going to be torture. He wouldn't be able to hide his feelings for the girl in such intimate conditions, and Connor knew that full well.

_And why do you even want to hide those feelings? _a small voice whispered inside his head. _Why don't you just tell her? _For he couldn't deny, even to himself, that the hard-core Captain he was had a definite soft spot for the energetic little field co-ordinater. He had confided in her as in no one else, bought her chocolate, when he knew Matt would forget, even saved her life when she had an allergic reaction. No wonder Connor saw through him so easily. He couldn't even fool his _soldiers_, for crying out loud.

Becker sighed. He was parked in front of Jess's apartment, behind Matt's car, by whatever madness had possessed him to come. Hopefully nobody was watching through a window as he pondered whether to gather the guts to knock on the door, or just turn around and drive home to polish his guns.

After sitting behind the wheel for a few minutes, he made up his mind. "Come on, you coward; just do it, they're you're _friends _for god's sake." With an even deeper sigh than before, he got out of the car and slammed the door, immediately drenched by the downpour. He swung the back door open, retrieved his big black sports bag, and made a run for the door. He pounded the wood, praying someone answer quickly.

To the Captain's great relief, Matt opened the door. Stumbling out of the rain, he set his bag down with a thud.

"Nice seeing you around, mate", Matt greeted him with his Irish accent. Becker saw everyone else's coats in a hanger, and hung his own wet one beside theirs.

Matt showed him up a long flight of stairs to the second floor, where all the living happened. Laughter could be heard. Music blared from a radio (obviously Emily's doing, Becker thought, wincing at the memory of her hectic driving) in the middle of a large, spacey room with big windows and modern kitchen equipment. There was an electric fireplace surrounded by couches, as well as a huge wide-screen TV set across from larger couch obviously intended to recline on. A dark stone counter defined where the kitchen ended and living room began. To their right, doors opened to bathrooms and bedrooms. At the moment, it seemed the rest of the team was busy in the kitchen.

"Beckeeer!" Jess squealed, earning an eyebrows-up from Connor, who was fiddling dangerously with a fork. She flew at him and hugged him tight. Becker was slightly surprised, but pleased. He hugged her back. "Nice to see you too Jess". It actually was.

He greeted the rest of his friends, managing to smile despite himself. Perhaps this vacation wasn't going to be such a bad thing after all…

Until Connor dropped the bombshell. "Hey, let's take your bag to where you'll be sleeping."

Becker immediately grew suspicious. "And where's that going to be?" He knew, he just _knew _from Connor's mischievous smile that something was going on.

"Just down here… In this bedroom. Sorry mate, you're getting the floor."

Becker didn't mind that, he had slept in worse places. He put his bag down, noticing the large mattress meant for him leaning against the wall. The room he was going to sleep in was bright, with a large window and red curtains. Dominating one end of the room was a large bed with a thick fluffy pillow and, also red, covers. Small tables held magazines and tubes of nail polish and other stuff. It dawned on him just where he was going to be staying…

"No. No _way,_ Connor, I am not sleeping here! You think you can just go ahead and put me in-

"Jess's room? Yup, you've got that right. How can I help it if you're too big for the couches?" Connor was grinning widely again, enjoying his moment. Becker was furious with the geek. They couldn't do this to him, they couldn't!

Connor stopped smiling as he saw the Captain's face darken. "Come on Becker, Jess is fine with it. I think. We're not even going to be spending time in our rooms! You won't even have to come in here, except for your stuff. And to sleep. Hey, it's this or the bathroom floor." Connor sincerely hoped his buddy wasn't going to punch his face in. The idea had seemed good at the start, but now he wondered if he wasn't pushing just a bit too hard.

For a moment, Becker almost welcomed sleeping in the bathroom. But he wasn't so angry as not to realize that that could really hurt Jess's feelings. He didn't want to risk their friendship because of a silly thing like sleeping in the same room. He could have done it with Abby, or Emily, why not Jess?

_Because Jess is something different, you know that_, the little voice told him. He mentally commanded it to shut up. They would change in the bathroom, and sleep apart from each other. How bad was that compared to making Jess miserable?

He turned to Connor, face blank. "Okay, whatever, have it your way. But I'm not standing for any tricks here, Temple. Got that?"

Connor's relief was visible. "Yes, no, absolutely not!" Becker could literally see the ideas forming in his unfortunately genius mind… but maybe he was imagining it. Connor beckoned to him. "Come on, let's go see what the others are up to! You like steaks with pepper sauce?"

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

Matt leaned back to pat his stomach after his second healthy serving of spicy steak and mashed potatoes, along with hot vegetables. "Jess, this was unbelievable."

"Excuse me, why do you suppose Jess had anything to do this? The creator of this masterpiece of a meal is _Le Connor Temple_", Connor announced from across the misted glass table. They had drawn up a few extra chairs and were eating at the low round table just outside the living room (Matt wasn't entirely sure where the living room began and ended). "Really?" Becker asked in surprise, looking up from his plate. "I never really imagined you as the cooking-type."

"Prepare to be amazed, Captain. I'm a wizard in the kitchen", Connor boasted. Abby snorted with laughter from beside him while cutting her meat. "You took this recipe from the cookbook and prepared the meal 'cause me and Jess had _private_ things to talk about. Yet you _still _had time to come and listen in at our door, where we found you. We should have thrown you in the oven."

They all laughed at that, and Connor leaned over to kiss Abby on the lips. "You'd never do that to me Abs", he said lovingly. "So you think…" the blonde woman replied, grinning evilly.

A little while later, Matt was looking through the vast pile of DVD's displayed near the TV. "Star Wars, Star Trek, X-Men, Battlestar Galactiga, Alien… Connor, don't you watch anything else?"

"What, like plants growing? I don't think so Matty boy."

Matt, who grew some plants as a hobby, ignored the jibe and shook his head. "And it's not hard to guess that the collection of girly ones belong to Jess?"

"Hey, they're mine too!" Abby hollered from across the room, where she was trying to find CDs with Becker and Emily. "There's nothing better after a hard day at work then sitting down and watching a good girly film with Jess, all full of weddings and make-ups and break-ups". Jess gave a thumbs up from in front of the Apple computer at the end of the counter.

Matt gave up the search for anything reasonable. "We'll rent something tomorrow. It's past eleven anyway, and I got up at six because my clock wouldn't stop ringing. I think I'll turn in." Emily rose from beside Becker and came to him. "Me too, then. We can stay up tomorrow". She switched off the music, and a strange silence descended on the room.

"Aallright then, I guess we're all going to sleep then!" Connor announced. "To sleep. At eleven."

Abby dragged him to the long couch-bed by an arm. "It'll do you some good too. Take a break with the Star Wars marathon, I'm sick and tired of listening to lightsabers and wookies and heavy breathing all night."

"But Abby-"

"NOW, Connor".

Matt put his hands on Emily's shoulders and directed her towards their room. "Well, goodnight you all", he said.

A chorus of "good nights" saw them to bed. Matt had to smile sympathetically at Becker as he began to put up his mattress. The guy was going to be in torture, but it was good for him. It would get the scales off those totally blind eyes of his and encourage him to maybe make a move with Jess.

In succession, they all changed into nightwear. Jess switched the lights off in the main room and lowered the curtains, creating darkness but for Connor and Abby's reading lamps on their bedside tables. "See you in the morning", she whispered. Connor mumbled something inaudible. "Night Jess", Abby said, switching off her light and leaning over her boyfriend to do the same for him.

Soon only quiet snores filled the flat.

**Thanks for reading! Reviews on what you think encourage me to write, and brighten my day so much :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait! Somehow this chapter was really hard to write, even though it's just a fill-in as I try to figure out what to do with the team. Enjoy!**

Becker rolled over for what seemed the hundredth time that night.

He just couldn't get to sleep. Since when had that happened last? _When you thought Connor, Abby and Danny were dead. When you saved Jess. _Not too many occasions.

The Captain of the ARC was lying awake underneath a warm blanket, on a soft mattress large enough for two. He was far from uncomfortable, physically. Mentally, well…

The reason for his sleeplessness was less than two meters from his head.

Jess's quiet breathing filled the silence of the bedroom. Becker found himself matching her deep breaths. He rolled over again silently to watch the girl.

She looked so beautiful and so innocent in the middle of her large bed, surrounded by stuffed toys. It was enough to catch Becker's breath in his chest. It took him a moment to realize he was holding his breath, and he released it with a soft sigh. Unbidden, last evening came to his mind…

_Jess bustled about the room, her nervousness clearly visible. Becker was standing in the middle of the room. He groaned inwardly. How awkward this was going to be…_

"_I've set up your mattress, here's your stuff at the end of the bed, I've got clean sheets and there's the pillowcase…" _

_A stuffed pink giraffe went flying as Jess bustled past. Her cheeks burned red as she turned for it, but Becker was already reaching for it and setting the toy back where it had been. He sighed. _

"_Jess, everything's fine. I can honestly find my stuff without you separating my underwear for me." He smiled, trying to get her to relax. _

"_I haven't… I didn't…" Jess spluttered, getting even more flustered. Her cheeks were alarmingly red by now. "Becker I haven't been through your underwear!" _

_The Captain felt like burrowing a hole for himself. His attempt at a joke had reached undiscovered levels of lameness._

"_I'm just… I'll go brush my teeth", he muttered, grabbing brush and paste as well as his pajamas._

_He dawdled over cleaning his teeth and washing his face, trying to give Jess time to calm down. _If_ she was going to calm down. It seemed unlikely._

_Becker changed hurriedly into the black shorts that he slept in, debating whether to keep his shirt on or off. Usually he preferred to sleep without it, and the nights were hot… but Jess was messed up enough as it was. _

_He pulled the grey sleeveless shirt over his head, and left the bathroom. Everyone else seemed to be asleep already. Becker stepped silently through the dark main room, surprisingly quiet for such a big man. He could hear Connor's soft snuffling snores from the couch._

_Jess was already changed into light pink pajamas when he returned to their room. She was reading a book, but put it down when Becker entered and shut the door. From the corner of his eye, he could see her large blue eyes following him as he set his belongings away. _

_Suddenly she spoke to him, though. "Sorry, Becker… if I seemed a little jumpy there. You must think I'm so stupid, us being friends and all, that I can't even pretend to be normal for a while…"_

_Becker was surprised by her words. Usually Jess didn't say anything like that without blushing like crazy. He could see how much she just wanted to keep their friendship unhampered, despite sleeping in the same room with him… though he couldn't understand why _she _was feeling uncomfortable. It was him who was too cowardly to confess his feelings for her, however one-sided they might be._

"_It's no problem Jess. And you're sweet when you blush, don't worry about it too much"._

_The words escaped him before he could stop himself, but Jess surprised him again by laughing. She wasn't at all tense anymore; to his relief, he had cleared that obstacle. _

"_Captain Becker, blushing isn't _sweet_!" she said, grabbing a furry red pillow and flinging it at him. Becker's eyes widened. He ducked, laughing, grabbed the missile, and threw it back at her, resulting in Jess catching the pillow with her stomach. She fell on her back and lay there on the bed, unmoving._

"_Jess?" Becker asked softly. He rose from his mattress and made his way over to her. Her eyes were closed. Had he thrown the pillow a bit too hard? He touched her face softly. The skin was so smooth and warm._

_At his touch, her eyes twitched. Becker was too busy wondering what he had done to have time to react as the pillow under her hand _whumped_ him in the side of the head. _

_Jess was giggling hysterically. Becker rubbed his temple, not amused. "Jess, I thought you were hurt!"_

"_Since when did someone get injured by a pillow?" she said, rolling her eyes. "You worry too much, Captain"._

_Despite himself, Becker's lips twitched in a smile. How he loved this girl._

They had talked long into the night, not about reports and anomalies and dinosaurs, like usual, but normal stuff, like what they were going to do tomorrow, and would it be easy to go back to work. Jess had even told him about her family. _"I don't usually talk about them, _she had said, _but I can tell you if you want…"_

It felt strangely satisfying to be worth her trust. He had, after all, confided in her too, when he still thought Danny, Connor and Abby were dead.

It was hard for him to admit it, but he had actually had a lot of fun that evening, joking around with the funny girl.

Becker closed his eyes, finally drifting off to sleep. This holiday _definitely _wasn't going to be as bad as he thought.

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

Emily woke with a start to a blast of sound.

For a minute she thought she was back in some prehistoric forest, being attacked by hungry creatures. She sat up hurriedly, her eyes darting around, fingers grabbing for the gilded dagger she always carried with her.

But around her were not trees or plains, but four walls. She was wearing soft silky pajamas, and the person lying beside her on a comfortable bed was definitely not Ethan or Charlotte.

Matt had also woken up. "What on earth…" he mumbled, still half-asleep and tangled in the blanket.

Emily rose from the bed to check the time. It was six forty-five. She groaned, already guessing who was responsible for this early-morning racket.

Sighing, she helped Matt from the bed. He wore shorts and no shirt, for the summer nights were hot. They opened the door, amplifying the sound even more. Matt covered his ears. He wasn't too good at this time of day. Emily's lips twitched.

Just then, Becker stumbled from his room, looking like he had received the same rude awakening as they had. The big man shut the door softly behind him. "I swear, I'm going to kill the person making that noise", he said in a way of greeting. Matt agreed hotly. _Men, _Emily thought, shaking her head. Always so quick to anger.

"Where's Jess?" Emily asked. The field co-ordinater had not come out of the room with Becker.

"Amazingly enough, still asleep. I don't know how she can manage it, with this going on. Speaking of which…" the Captain's hazel eyes moved to the main living area before them.

Emily was so entirely unsurprised to see Connor that she even amazed herself. The geeky little guy was seated in front of the Mac, tapping away at the keys. Ear-splitting music was playing from the loudspeakers, accompanied by strange clashes and shouts. At a different time of day, if Emily hadn't been so tired and bothered, she might have joined him; she thought the moving pictures were fascinating, especially when you controlled them in a game like what Connor was happily playing.

"Connor, just _what _do you think you're doing!" Matt asked in an irritated voice. Normally Matt was calm and controlled, but just now he seemed more than a little pissed off.

Connor actually looked surprised to see them. He was still in his silky boxer shorts. "Hey, shouldn't you guys be sleeping? Sorry Becker, but you've looked better you know. Had a rough night with Jess?"

The Captain growled and stalked forwards. "Temple, turn this off or I'll…"

"What's going on?"

Emily turned to see Abby sitting on the sofa-bed, staring at the lot of them. She seemed to have just awoken, judging from the way she was yawning.

Connor was relieved. "Abby, I think you just saved my life".

Becker wasn't so pleased. "Abby? How come you're not telling Connor to shut up and get back to sleep?"

The blonde woman yawned widely. "He's done this every morning since I bought him _The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion _computer game. I remembered how he loved playing the earlier versions before we were marooned in the Cretaceous. He says there's no time otherwise, with work and all, and we don't even bother about the noise anymore. Sorry; I probably should have warned you?"

It was Matt's turn to grumble. "Yeah, that might have been nice. Would you mind telling him to _stop_?"

"Hey! I'm still here Matt", Connor said.

The team leader rolled his eyes. "As if I need to be reminded. Alright _Connor_, can you shut that thing down until, like, noon or something? I'm getting a headache from the music".

"No".

"I thought so. Abby pleeease?" Matt looked at Abby with imploring eyes. Emily cocked her head, indicating she agreed. Becker just crossed his arms.

The blonde woman pretended to consider them for a moment.

"Alright then. Connor, put it off".

The computer tech's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "You can't honestly be serious, there won't be time to play! I do this _every morning_! Are you telling me I'm going to be stuck on the brink of level sixteen for _three weeks_?"

"Yes, I am. We have visitors now, unless you happened to notice. You turn it off and keep it off during the mornings while they're here, or move out onto the street".

"I just might".

"Go on then, you know where the door is", Abby challenged, leaving her boyfriend and fiancé speechless.

Emily laughed silently to herself, enjoying the situation. Connor was utterly powerless before Abby, and always would be.

Becker clapped Abby on the shoulder and headed back towards his room and mattress. Emily watched his back and wondered how they had got along with Jess in the confines of her bedroom. She shuddered at how awkward the possibilities were. But the Victorian woman had great trust in both her friends that they would find each other in the end.

Connor was still grumbling as he headed back to bed beside Abby. "Matt, this is all your fault".

"_My _fault? How is it my fault?"

"You provoked Abby. Your fault".

Matt smiled. "I just happen to know your weaknesses, mate".

"Ha, yeah right! I can take Abs anytime".

"We all saw that…" Becker murmured before disappearing into his room.

Emily reassured Connor. "Don't worry, I like computer games too! We'll play later today".

His brown eyes lit up. "Really? Somehow I just knew you were that type of girl".

Emily just laughed, and headed over to her room. Matt was already sprawled over the bed. "How does he think I'm going to get to sleep _now_?" the man from the future said.

Emily slid down next to him and rested her head on Matt's shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled. "Maybe you don't have to".

Matt recognized that smile. He leaned down to kiss her. Emily sighed with happiness as their lips touched, and stayed together.

This was truly where she belonged.

**So that was chapter four. Tell me what parts you like, or what you don't, and I'll try to follow your advice. Any ideas for what they should do during their vacation are welcome as well :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 is here! I think it's the longest one yet. Yayy! Enjoy :)**

**Oh and by the way, this chapter is dedicated to **_**Elliesmile**_**, who gave me some good advise… and read my mind too :D**

It was a great effort to get out of bed without waking Abby, who was a light sleeper. He had had to move excruciatingly slowly, edging inch by inch from under the blanket while trying to avoid making the springs of the couch creak, but in the end Connor had finally managed it.

The entire household was fast asleep. Only a fly buzzed miserably against the window overlooking the stairs as he tiptoed over to the kitchen, looking out for anything treacherous he might trip or slip on. Connor slid around the counter, glancing over to the closed doors that led to the bedrooms. His friends weren't about to wake up in a hurry, not after they had already been dragged out of bed once by what was supposedly "loud noise too early in the morning".

_Yeah right!_ Connor scoffed to himself. Usually, he was already up at six to play _Oblivion _before work. Abby had read his mind when she had dragged him on what she called "a shopping trip" and he called "wasting your time when you could be doing more important things". Or maybe she just had to watch him drooling over the game to know he wanted it. One could never be sure…

And now they were saying he couldn't play for three weeks!

_They are so going to learn the hard way how Connor Temple takes revenge. Matt, Emily, Becker, all of them. _He was half tempted to take it out on Jess as well, to see Becker's reaction, but decided that was out of order. Their flatmate hadn't actually done anything, and her anger was a terrible thing to suffer (especially in the mornings), he had learned.

Connor opened the cupboard over the sink, reaching for a jug to fill with water. When it was half full, though, he hesitated, water dribbling over his hands and into the sink. That was too ordinary of a method. It would almost be _boring _to watch them foundering in just water. An evil grin spread across Connor's face as he considered the possibilities. Abby would kill him… but it would be worth it.

Spurred on by his inspiration, Connor reached into the fridge and drew out several cartons of liquid. He then poured them together into the jug he had been about to use, swirling the contents around as he pondered how to get the best results for his wake-up plan. Once, he knocked the jug into the counter by accident, making a loud noise. Connor glanced over at Abby worriedly, but she just turned over in her sleep.

Light was already starting to shine through the thin curtains when Connor finally made his way over the lacquered floor to his own bedroom door, where Matt and Emily were bunking. Opening the door quieter than anybody could believe of the accident-prone guy, he slipped into the room. After debating for a second, Connor left the door open for a quick escape.

Matt and Emily lay with their arms around each other, breathing peacefully. _Perfect_.

In one swift movement, Connor raised the jug over his head and poured his concoction over the pair of them.

Emily awoke with a scream, flailing around and nearly knocking the jug from Connor's arms. Matt turned over so swiftly, he promptly fell off the side of the bed, causing gales of laughter from the geek. It was even better than he had hoped for!

Connor raced over to Jess's room, laughing his head off, before Becker could wake up.

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

What he _hadn't _anticipated was both the room's inhabitants having been awake for quite some time now.

Jess was sitting in a comfy chair across from a mirror, brushing her hair, while Becker busied himself checking out her numerous girly possessions. They were both still wearing their night-wear – Jess in light pink mini-shorts and t-shirt, Becker wearing his black shorts and grey sleeveless shirt… and looking so incredible in them, Jess blushed despite herself. She had the perfect opportunity to study his reflection from the mirror without staring too openly, noting how his strong muscles moved as he stalked around her room like a curious cat. _He's just so perfect, _was all Jess could think, not even concentrating on her hair as the brush moved in and out. _And that's why I can't have him. He's too perfect and I'm too… Jess-like. _Still, she almost laughed at his confused expression before the array of makeup, magazines and various beauty products.

"How many of these nail-polishes do you actually use, Jess?" the soldier asked while inspecting orderly rows of at least two dozen colors.

"All of them, of course! And that's just scraps I use for decorating. The main part of my collection, which I use more often, is in the bathroom. Though a lot of them are Abby's too", she rambled. The look of amazement on Becker's face was priceless. He opened his mouth to speak. "Don't you think that maybe just a _few _less-

Just then, a scream from the next room cut off Becker's speech.

His eyes widened. "It's Emily. Jess, stay here", he commanded, military instincts kicking in automatically. The Captain sidled towards the door, looking odd in just his shorts and thin shirt. She sighed, putting the hairbrush down on her table. "Becker, it's just-"

"_Stay here_. I don't want you to get hurt again".

Jess was taken aback by his voice. It sounded almost as if he was… worried about her?

_Of course he's worried about you, you idiot. He'd be the same for any other member of the team. _Yet she wondered… had the beetle incident meant something was different?

"But seriously Becker…"

"Jess, please just stay here".

She lost her patience at that point. Rising from her chair, she said in a shrill voice: "It's just _Connor, _for god's sake, he's giving the others a wake-up!"

Silence descended on the room. Becker looked confused again. "Connor?"

"Yes_, Connor_. Did you seriously think he'd let that business with his precious game just slide past without some sort of retribution?" Jess exclaimed, standing with her hands on her hips. Becker still stood frozen by the door. The man seemed to have a case of early-morning offline. He slowly shook his head. "No… I suppose not".

"Good. Now open the door before he surprises us with something unpleasant too".

Becker turned the doorknob, opening the door. Behind it stood Connor, carrying a jug of something yellowish-brown and sweet-smelling.

"Good morning Bec - hey what's going on here? How'd you get up that fast? " He was utterly shocked at the sight of the Captain standing in the doorway. Becker glared.

Jess strode over to the door to stand beside him. "And just _what _were you thinking of doing in our room, Connor?"

The geek's gaze switched to her, snapping out of his shock. "Ohh… I just… er, wanted to say good morning?"

"Nice try. What've you done to Matt and Emily? What's that stuff?"

Connor squirmed under their accusing gazes, trying unsuccessfully to hide the jug behind his back. "Oh, it's just a little bit of this and that-"

Just then, they saw Matt emerge from his room. Connor yelped and jumped behind Becker to hide. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to keep him from Matt's sight.

"Connor what the hell was that stuff? My pajamas are all sticky and... ugh, they smell rotten too!" Jess hurried out of her room, leaving the three guys together to sort out their differences. Soon enough, loud voices reached her, and if she wasn't totally wrong, the sound of something breaking.

Abby passed her on her way to find Emily. The blonde woman shook her head angrily. "I swear, I'm going to kill him", she said before striding off towards the noise.

Jess found Emily in the bathroom, soaking her hair in the sink. Or rather, trying to; she seemed to be having a lot of trouble. Jess moved over to help her friend. "Here, let me do that for you", she suggested.

From behind waves of dark brown hair, she saw Emily smile with gratitude. "Thank you", the other woman said. Jess set to work with cleaning the thick curls. Emily's hair was all matted into clumps of sticky strands, and separating them proved to be nearly impossible. Jess had to take each hair apart from the other with her fingers, leaving them sticky and dirty.

It took her a long time, but in the end Emily's head was free of whatever Connor had used. She filled Jess in while drying her hair.

"I can't believe Connor did that! One second, I was just lying in bed with Matt, then I was having this great jug of liquid poured all over me as if I were under a waterfall. This – is – unbelievable ! I'm going to get back at that guy some day!" the Victorian woman exclaimed, wringing her hands.

Jess shrugged. "Maybe you don't have to – Matt and Abby are probably doing a pretty good job already", she said while washing her hands in the sink. Though the incident was a foul one, there was no claiming that she hadn't expected Connor to pull off something like this, it being the first night and all. "Come on; we should get some breakfast".

Emily growled. "We'll just slice Connor up and have him on our bread".

Knowing that Emily's mood was likely to brighten back to normal pretty soon, Jess was just silent, and left the room with her friend on her tail, the former's eyes flicking around in search of the culprit.

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

"Hey everyone, here's your toast", Abby announced, carrying a plate to the table. Everyone reached out for pieces, and she seated herself in a chair.

It had been one hell of a morning, dealing with her fiancé's wake-up for Matt and Emily which had, quite honestly, left a great big mess to clean up. The sheets of the bed were covered in sticky yellowish something, and Abby had taken just one look, stripped the bed bare, and thrown them all in the washing machine. Then they had all had a good laugh while making breakfast as they watched Connor being chased around the flat by a furious Matt, both in their pajamas and Connor screaming for mercy. Nobody had felt much like helping him out.

Now the hub had finally died down, and everyone was sitting at the table in some semblance of order. After Matt had been thrown in the shower, his early-morning temper had run its course, at least enough to allow him to accept Connor's "I'm sorry" without starting anther run around the flat.

"Abby, this is a great breakfast. Can I have some more please?" Connor asked, on his best behavior after being shouted at by his girlfriend for fifteen minutes. Abby had been furious as she woke up to Emily's scream, but as usual, she couldn't stay angry at Connor for long. But still…

"Sorry Conn, you've eaten us bare again. I should have gone shopping yesterday… looks like we'll be going out somewhere tonight, the whole lot of us. _If _you think you can contain yourselves?" she asked, looking pointedly at Matt and Connor. Becker, Jess and Emily all looked at their plates, trying to keep their laughter to themselves and failing miserably.

"Why is it just me and Matt? Becker was there too", her boyfriend said, before noticing her expression and hastily moving on. "Yeah yeah we will! It'll be like a great big party, having us somewhere…" Connor smirked. Abby just sighed. _What am I going to do with him…_

"Speaking of parties, do you celebrate birthing days in this time?" Emily asked curiously.

Jess was quick to answer. "Yeah, of course we do! Why, anyone we know turning years soon?"

"Well, I am".

Jess's eyes grew round. "_Really?_ Oh my god Emily, why didn't you tell us before? What day?"

"Twenty-third of June", Matt answered for her."And I think you'll find it's called a birthday, Emily". He smiled lovingly at his girlfriend beside him.

Abby was excited too. She hadn't even known Emily was turning years! "Hey guys, we have to have a party and stuff! Show Emily how _we _celebrate", she said, winking at Jess, who was practically bouncing in her chair next to Becker. At least she'd have someone enthusiastic to help her.

"Oh great, the girls get going", Connor groaned. "Guys, we have to get out of this house when they go into crazy party freak-out mode". Matt seemed to be thinking along the same track. "That's the first thing I've agreed over with you today mate".

Abby smiled. She had a feeling this was going to be pretty awesome.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Hey great choice Abby, I absolutely love this place", Becker said as she pulled her car next to a small Italian restaurant. They had all piled into one of the black company cars Lester had supplied, Becker and Abby in the front, Jess, Matt and Emily in the back, and Connor in the trunk.

"You'd never know Becker ever went to eat out", Connor's muffled voice sounded from the rear of the vehicle. Jess elbowed the back seat, for all the good it did. "How do you know how much Becker eats out?" she asked. "Oh, do you?" he shot back. That made her shut up.

Abby narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Jess had been perky and over-energetic all day, planning fun things to do for Emily's birthday. Now just one little poke from Connor and she was lost for words, something that _never_ happened to her. _Unless someone's teasing her about a certain soldier…_ Abby had known there was _something _going on between her two friends for a long time now, but did they really have to be so blind about it? She was losing patience with the pair of them.

"Come on, I'm starving", Matt said, oblivious to her musing, and they all piled out of the car. Abby snapped back into the moment, realizing how much fun going out with her work-mates was. The girls had had a lot of fun choosing their outfits for dinner; Jess had a whole closetful of going-out clothes, and they were all pretty much the same height. Abby wore black leggings and a trendy black tube top with roses on it; Emily had chosen light jeans and a tight royal blue long-sleeved shirt; Jess also had jeans, but they were of a darker shade, and a sequined black tube top that shimmered every time she moved. The guys had stood with their mouths open like idiots when they first saw them.

"Get out of there, Connor, it wasn't that bad", Becker scolded as he half-pulled his friend out of the trunk. Connor leaned over and brushed his hands on his jeans. "Easy for you to say! I was the one bouncing along like some sort of child's plaything. Who ever knew Abby drove so badly". That morning's incident was already forgotten.

"You are a plaything… mine anyway", Abby said, grabbing his hand and pecking him on the mouth. "Let's go in and try to look proper, alright?"

Inside the building, they found a comfortable room with walls painted to look like bricks, and stained-glass lamps that gave the place a warm feel. Finding a table, the team ordered their meals, chatting lightly. Their waitress was a pretty young woman wearing the jeans and buttoned-up dark red shirt that all the workers wore. She took their orders into a notebook.

"So, another group date by the look of it? We get them all the time during the summer, it's kind of like a tradition around here!" she said while scribbling. The woman had a high voice that Abby found extremely annoying.

"Oh, it's nothing like that", she said. "We're workmates on holiday. Or well, I mean most of us are together anyway…" she trailed off, looking down at the menu. Connor chose that moment to intervene. "Yeah _most _of us. There are a couple useless singletons in our midst… but I have a feeling there won't be for long". His comment earned a glare from Becker, and Jess blushed bright red, but the waitress didn't seem to notice. "Well that's quite alright. I'll just go get your meals now!" With that, she moved off to the kitchens.

Two hours later, they were nearly done in the restaurant. Connor was finishing off the great big ice-cream he was trying to force down after a huge pan pizza with salad, and Abby was amazed to see Emily wasn't far behind. They were the only two to have ordered dessert. The rest of their group were just groaning in their chairs.

"I… I feel really tired. You know when you eat a lot, and feel sleepy afterwards? I think I ate too much…" Jess complained, holding her stomach. Abby glanced at her sympathetically. They had ordered the same chicken pasta, which had filled them well enough, and she hadn't even eaten it all. The entire time, the annoying waitress with the girly voice was offering them something new to eat. She seemed especially engrossed with Matt, which Emily luckily didn't mind too much. Abby felt a little sorry for the waitress. She was after such a lost case.

"Becker? You like your food?" she asked the tall soldier, who was sitting beside her.

"Yeah, it was fine", he muttered. "You?"

"It was fine too". She smiled lazily, earning a smile from Becker as well. Jess was right. You did get sleepy after eating a lot of stuff… _There comes that waitress again… I'll just close my eyes for a second…just until she leaves…_

**That's that for chapter 5. I didn't have time to reread the whole thing, so there may be mistakes. Thanks for reading, reviews would make my day! Then my inspiration thanks you too :) **


	6. Chapter 6

**FINALLY, chapter 6! I'll be writing this kind of like a two-part chapter, because I want to write it properly :) Enjoy!**

"Excuse, Mr. Lester, you should still sign these papers concerning the resupplying of the medical bay."

James Lester was sitting in his office at the ARC, going over yet another mountain of paperwork. He looked up at the invader of his personal space, sighing loudly. Who knew letting off his trusted dinosaur-hunting team would amount to so much extra work for him? Everyone had some questions, some requests, some sort of something to concern him with. Couldn't the imbeciles just figure their problems out for themselves? Just today, Becker's replacement as Captain had dared to ask for a pay rise, as he seemed to think his job was harder than he had anticipated. Nobody_ ever_ asked Lester for a pay rise. He had taught the man some respect in the polite and controlled way he saved for anyone who bothered him; heavy sarcasm, and in the end simply throwing him out of the office with a long rant about the government's saving funds and how he would fire him once the real Captain returned.

Now they were in need of new medicines and medical equipment; Lester had never quite appreciated how well his original team kept themselves out of messes like these replacements constantly got in to. Aside from Becker being bitten by a poisonous lizard, Connor's broken leg, and Jess's allergic reaction, they had gotten off pretty lightly (Lester never included his own encounter with the future predators). Now, he had found someone in the medical bay after every mission. No wonder they had to restock.

"Yes, yes, give that over here." Lester took the bunch of papers from his worker (he couldn't recall her name), grumbling to himself, and started reading the list of supplies. On the bottom of every page, he signed his name. It was incredibly boring work, even for paperwork. The day when he could do this all on the computer…

The team had only been gone for two days, and they had already gotten four anomalies. A Velociraptor had wrecked havoc at an outdoor swimming pool, and two large plant-eating dinosaurs had broken through a number of fences, but nothing terribly serious had happened else wise. The replacing team was just making a dog's breakfast of the whole thing. _How _he was going to survive another two and a half weeks, even Lester couldn't say.

Strangely, he found himself actually missing his team. Even Connor Temple, who drove him insane and broke things most inconveniently, and Matt Anderson who was still a bit of a mystery man. He missed the loyalty and calm air of Becker, Jess's energetic presence at the computers, Abby and Emily boosting everyone's confidence. In their absence, the missions didn't work out as well, nobody had a sense of humor and the coffeemaker was _never _full. In truth, without them, the ARC was just plain boring. Even the creatures and his never-ending sarcasm couldn't change that.

Lester rose from his chair, stretching, and surveyed the Hub though the glass wall of his office. Things were proceeding normally enough. Soldiers were moving in and out of the armory or bringing their black boxes to the control station. Scientists worked at the tables with microscopes and other equipment, and some computer techy was rolling around in Jess's red chair. Lester sighed yet again. What was he going to _do _around here? Besides endless paperwork. He should have gotten an assistant years ago, but the Oliver Leek-mess was still fresh in his mind. _Thank god we don't have to worry about him anymore. Or Helen Cutter, for that matter._

All of a sudden, right out of the blue, the anomaly alert started blaring through the ARC. Lester winced at the noise, mentally kicking himself for not getting his office off the alarm line. He watched as the replacement team scrambled to leave. Nothing like the smooth way Captain Becker and Matt got it all going. 

Lester turned back to his desk and papers, hoping sincerely that the team was having a good time.

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

"Hey guys, wake up already, or I'll throw your breakfast out the window!"

The call sounded through the entire flat, breaking the comfortable early-morning silence. It woke Matt, who groaned, massaging his temples as he lay flat on his back on the bed. His cropped hair was a ruffled mess, his eyes heavy with sleep, and worst of all, Emily was not beside him. Her breathing would have been right next to his ear, as it was every morning. He groped around the bed with his hand, but she wasn't there. She must have risen already. With a great effort, Matt pulled himself into a sitting position, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He wondered what the ruckus was about.

Matt slid out from under the blanket, reaching for his jeans before remembering that Jess had thrown them in the wash last evening. Instead, he just stood up and moved to the door, determined to find out who was ruining his sleep. He had been having a great dream; Emily was in it, which automatically made it great.

Jess's room door was open, he noticed, and she appeared in the doorway just as he did. "What's going on?" she asked groggily, still in her pajamas. Her hair was still in the same French braid it had been in when they were at the Italian restaurant.

Abby was making coffee in the kitchen. Matt immediately located Emily near her, sitting at the black stone counter and sipping some tea. Earl Grey, he knew – it was her favorite. The Victorian woman looked slightly amused at the sight of Connor, running around the living room to hide a pair of grey socks he had apparently filched from Becker's room.

Pulling out a chair next to Emily, Matt kissed her on the top of the head. Jess sat across from them, rubbing her eyes and demanding a coffee from Abby. "Have a good sleep, sweetheart?" he asked.

Emily harrumphed, swinging her wild curls away from her face. "Oh yes, I had a good sleep, after I half dragged you into the house, since you fell asleep on the car ride. You could barely keep your feet!" His girlfriend seemed more amused than angry with him.

"I really don't remember that… except for being really tired in the restaurant and trying to avoid that serving lady."

"Trying to avoid such a pretty woman? Weren't you even just a little bit interested?" Emily teased.

Matt smiled at her. "She had no hope. Someone much more interesting was sitting right next to me." He leaned over to kiss her deeply.

"Guys, really? Over breakfast?" Jess seemed more annoyed than usual as Connor moved towards them, bouncing over with Becker's socks still grasped in his hand. "Awww, come on Jess, don't be a spoilsport," he said. "They're in love. We all know you're just annoyed 'cause _you _don't yet have the chance to –" Connor's speech was cut off as Jess threw the morning's newspaper at his head. Matt laughed as it bounced off onto the floor, and the mess it had made of Connor's hair. Abby came over with some eggs and bacon, which she doled onto Matt and Jess's plates generously.

"Abby, this really isn't necessary", Matt said. "We're fine with just an ordinary breakfast, you don't need to make something special every morning."

"Speak for yourself, Matt. I'm loving this, she _never _makes me bacon and eggs in the morning", Connor said happily, snatching a piece of bacon off Jess's plate. Abby just sighed in exasperation. "You and I, Connor, are going grocery shopping today. The others can do anything they want."

Her boyfriend was aghast. "You can't be serious! I had loads of plans for today, and its rude to leave your visitors without a host!"

"I'm serious. It's your fault we don't have any food, you eat too much! And they have Jess for the rest of the day, don't they?" Abby said, closing the discussion and leaving Connor looking unhappy at this turn of events.

Matt yawned again, and took a bite to eat. The breakfast was great. "What time is it, by the way?" he asked between mouthfuls. "I feel like I only slept for a few hours."

Jess's eyebrows went up. "It's, like, twelve thirty Matt, you slept for at least eleven and a half hours. If you don't count the car ride…" she said, trailing off.

"The rest of us got up a couple hours ago, but I just couldn't wake you from your sleep", Emily said. Matt grumbled a bit. He never slept that late… but he had definitely needed to. Emily was right, as always. Matt sighed, concentration on getting the rest of his bacon and eggs on a piece of bread.

"So, what did I miss?"

For some reason, Jess turned pink and stared at her plate, poking at the food with her fork. Connor immediately started talking, as if he had been just waiting for Matt to ask. "Oh, all sorts of interesting things! In the restaurant, Abby fell asleep while me and Emily were still eating dessert. Quite rude of you, love", he said, directing the comment at Abby, who had seated herself beside Jess. She just waved it away. "Anyway, she seemed to think a was too busy eating, so she dozed off against Becker's shoulder, which he barely noticed until she started to snore."

"Hey! I don't snore!" Abby answered him heatedly. Connor was bugging her more than usual, and Matt saw it was beginning to fray her nerves. Even her fiancé seemed to notice it this time. He suddenly seemed to remember the pair of grey socks he was holding, and began looking for a hiding place while continuing his tale.

"Anyway, when I was finished, Becker moved her over to me. And can you guess what happened _then_?" Connor tried holding the suspense, but failed as he was far too eager to tell his story. Matt barely had time to open his mouth. "Well, right there on the spot, wouldn't it just be our sweetly obvious Jess who zones out against the Captain's other shoulder! And even better, he gets to carry her into the car. Don't tell me he didn't enjoy it."

Abby snorted while Jess progressed from pink to an alarming shade of red. "It's not such a big thing, Connor. I mean, I can't count the times he's comforted me and I've leaned against his shoulder or held his hand." Matt backed her up, trying to save Jess some discomfort. "Yeah, I remember when you were trapped with those burrowing creatures, and Becker somehow held her together while we waited", he said, glancing at Jess. To his relief, her color went down a little bit, and she muttered something that sounded like agreement.

Connor wasn't going to let the subject go, though. "Come on Jess, we all know how well you two get on together! Haven't you even _glanced _at the video footage from when the beetles invaded us? I've never seen anything so obvious," he rambled, finally deciding to leave the socks underneath the couch. Connor straightened, brushing off his hands. "Ugh, girls, we need to vacuum here."

"Connor, just leave Jess alone", Matt said. _For now, _he mouthed when the others weren't looking, winking at Connor, who grinned back mischievously. Only then Matt realized that someone was missing. "Where is Becker anyway?" he asked, glancing around. "Is he still sleeping?" Jess shook her head, obviously not trusting her voice yet.

Connor seemed just as perplexed. "Yeah! Where is he, I haven't seen him since last night! We've got something to talk about too…"

Abby sighed. "If you must know, Becker woke up at nine to go for a run. Haven't heard of him since. Actually, I was thinking he'd already be back… but I suppose he likes exercising, something I might encourage in certain people in this household." She looked pointedly at her fiancé, who just as surely glanced away.

Matt was amused at the thought of Becker in track pants, running along the sidewalk like any normal person. "He went for a _run_?"

Abby nodded. "Yup, that's what he said." Just then, they all heard the sound of the door opening. "Actually, I think that might be him." She emptied her coffee cup and rose from her chair to go help the Captain.

"Morning guys", Becker greeted them all as he reached the top of the stairs. His shirt was sweaty, but he seemed pleased with his three-hour-or-so run. "I'm gonna hit the showers. Don't bother saving me any breakfast, I've eaten already." Connor was confused. "You went for a three-hour run and you don't want to eat? That's one hell of a diet, man." Becker just rolled his eyes, making his way over to the bathroom. "I found a gym along the way and had something in the cafeteria. Happy?" he said. Connor just nodded, and began to clear the dishes away.

Becker was showered and wearing clean clothes in about half an hour. Matt was sitting at the TV with Abby, Connor and Jess, watching a program about troubled teens, when he emerged from the bathroom. "So, what are we doing today?" the soldier asked, making his way over to them and leaning on the couch. Abby shut the TV and grabbed a list from in front of her. "Me and Connor are using the afternoon for grocery shopping", she announced, looking down the long list. Her boyfriend groaned. "Kill me now." Jess laughed. "Did you really just say that to a dinosaur-hunting soldier?" she asked him teasingly.

Connor ignored her, and switched on the telly again. Abby had to grab his arm and drag him to him to his feet to get him moving. Matt thought that looked incredibly ridiculous, and hoped Emily never had to do so...until he remembered what the others had said about last night. He sighed. _I guess I'm a drag after all._

"But Abby I don't want to come", Matt, Becker and Jess heard Connor complaining from the foot of the stairs, until the door slammed and they were gone. The car rumbled to life outside, pulling away with a screech of tires.

"So what _are _we doing today, Jess?" Matt asked, interested. He hoped they weren't about to spend the afternoon at the flat, watching bad programs about other people's problems.

But when he heard what Jess and Emily had in mind, he actually considered staying. His girlfriend emerged from the girl's bathroom just as Jess was answering, excitement in her eyes. "We, I mean me and Emily, are taking you shopping with us! We'll go to this big new shopping centre, one we haven't blown up yet, and have lunch at one place I took her to once. It's going to be great! I just hope you don't mind waiting while we put on our make-up and going-out clothes and stuff." And she was gone, pulling Emily over to her room, before either of them could make a sound.

"That's just amazing", Becker muttered, looking after them like someone had slapped him in the face. Matt almost laughed at his expression. _You mean she's amazing, and you're not wrong._ He wasn't a fan of shopping, especially when the girls got into _that _mode, but imagining Becker in the middle of a busy shopping centre...

They were both ready to leave in minutes, but it took at least an hour before the girls emerged from Jess's room. They were wearing the same clothes as yesterday, or at least the same style, Matt noticed. Their eyes were surrounded by light lines of black, their lashes covered in mascara. Both girls looked very pretty to him. Becker seemed to be thinking along the same lines. His eyes traveled up and down Jess, scrutinizing her. Matt smirked. His buddy was good at covering up his feelings, just not concerning her. It was odd, that opposites attract thing.

"I'll drive", he offered.

**I'll continue in the next chapter! Reviews determine how soon it comes ;) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Once again, I'm embarrassed for my lack of updates. **

**But school's started here in Finland, and there's soooo much to do D: To make up for my lapses, I'm linking a couple brilliant primeval videos that haven't gotten the credit they deserve! Links at the bottom, I'd love it if you read first though :D**

"Did we pass this shop already?" Matt asked the soldier at his side, looking around frantically. Becker

grumbled, trying to see over the heads of the crowd. "It's possible… I think." The big man looked doubtful. All around the two of them, a mass of people moved around, colorful posters advertised this and that, and shop fronts displayed all sorts of things. It was like walking through a crowded 3D maze, something neither of them was enjoying much. Emily and Jess had made it seem so easy orient themselves on the sprawling structure of the new mall. So why were they so out of it? Their plan had been so brilliant…

"_Jess, seriously? That's the sixth dress you've tried on in this shop", Matt complained, sitting down on a round red stool inside the (next) clothes store the girls had dragged the two protesting men into. His feet ached like nothing he had ever felt before, and he felt sick just looking at the pink high heels and light brown thin-bottomed leather sandals Jess and his girlfriend were wearing. How they managed it was a mystery. Matt removed his shoe and rubbed the sole of his foot. It felt incredibly good._

_Becker collapsed beside him with a deep sigh. "'All we need is a couple hours,' that's what the girls told me. Just a little trip down to the mall, nothing out of the ordinary. And here we are, five hours later, with our feet sore and getting a headache from that music." They watched Jess come out of the changing room, turn around in front of the mirror, and then head straight back. Emily came over to the guys, her arms laden with dresses, jeans, shirts, _everything. _Matt groaned loudly, but his girlfriend merely breezed by. "I'm just going to try these on, ok? Just wait here for a minute", she said, hurrying to get the room beside Jess's. Their excited voices carried out over the tops of the doors._

_He and Becker were alone. For now. There were no other customers near them…_

"_Hey, mate, this is our chance!" Matt realized, startling Becker, who had started dozing with his face in his hands. "Let's get out of here, the girls are gonna be in there forever!"_

"_Oh yeah? And what are we going to do then, hang around until they eventually find us and take another round of the stores? No thanks, I'm staying here." Even Becker, with his military training, was all tired out by the shopping trip. Matt would have laughed, if he hadn't been in the same situation. He grabbed his friend by the shoulder and dragged him onto his feet. "Come on, we haven't got all day. We parked in the C-hall, right?" All he got was a mutter of annoyance. Within a matter of minutes, they were well away from the dreaded store._

Well, at least they had tried...

Matt had actually had time to revel in the ingenuity of his plan, until Becker pointed out that they had absolutely no idea how to get out of the frickin' mall and to the parking halls!

"Hey! There you are!"

Jess's voice was easy to recognize, even among all those others babbling away. And Matt had never though he would dread hearing it that much.

The little brunette hurtled into him, nearly knocking Matt off his feet and clunking him in the leg with something heavy. Emily followed, slightly more composed, carrying a huge load of plastic and paper shopping bags. Becker didn't actually even seem to mind having them find the two of them. He was uneasy with so many civilians rushing around, and wanted to get out of here. After righting himself, Matt grabbed Jess's shoulders so she wouldn't topple right over.

"We were so worried! What did you think you were doing, wandering off like that? Everyone knows men can't find their own way around a shopping mall!" Jess babbled.

Becker looked a little uncomfortable. "Erm… We wanted some air and were swept away by the crowd." He still didn't want to hurt Jess's feelings. "Can we _please _just leave now?"

Emily glanced at Jess, clearly begging for her to say no. But as usual, Becker was too unresistable for the young field co-ordinater. "Yeah, we should actually get going, it's pretty late already…" she said thoughtfully. "Here, you carry this and I'll help Emily with the shopping bags." Jess handed the box she had been carrying over to Matt, shoving him back again. He glanced down at it and frowned. "Cider? What's this for?"

"My party, of course!" Emily exclaimed while doling out bags to Jess and Becker. "Though Jess said it can be drunk anytime. I tasted some, it's great!"

Matt harrumphed. Emily had never drunk before. Becker just looked doubtfully at Jess. "Are you old enough to drink?" he asked her. She answered by waving her plastic Macy's bag at his face. "I'm almost twenty now, Becker!" she said, blushing crazily. "Let's just get to the car", Matt ushered them desperately. With that, the foursome left the mall, girls leading.

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

"Thank god, the torture is finally over!" Connor all but shouted, rushing for the car, parked in the Supermarket's lot. A pair of old woman looked at him disapprovingly before moving away. He pulled the door handle back and forth, before coming to the conclusion that the doors were locked.

Abby sighed, pressing a button on the keys. The locks popped open and Connor took his place in the front seat while she packed the groceries into the back of the truck. It had been a long and incredibly irritating trip, getting everything on her list while at the same time trying to keep Connor out of trouble. She had done a poor job too; only after he surprised a woman in the changing rooms did her fiancé get humble and totter on beside her, complaining of extreme boredom.

But they were finally finished and stocked for at least another week or so. The car ride home was oddly silent, as Connor was working through the half-kilo jug of gummy bears that she had bought for him, but Abby didn't mind. A silence with Connor was always comfortable, however rare the occasions were.

She pulled into a parking slot in front of their apartment (the flat was actually Jess's, but they had been living there so long it was always talked of as "theirs") just as a black four-by-four cruised into the one in front of them. Connor looked up from his half-finished candy container in surprise. "They're back already? I thought Jess and Emily would keep them at the mall for hours still! But I guess Becker has his ways of convincing Jess…" he trailed off, grinning at her mischievously, just the way she liked. She had long ago stopped telling him off for teasing the emotion-hiding soldier and poky girl. "But Connor, you were there when she said they'd only be a little while."

His smile widened. "What would be the fun in that? The more time those two spend together, the better", Connor said happily, bouncing out of the car. "Hey guys!" he greeted the others, who were struggling with several shopping bags and a 24-pack of apple cider. Judging from the open end of the pack and Emily's rosy cheeks, they had started their own party in the car.

"Save some for us, will you girls?" Abby said, locking the car and joining her friends as they all piled into the flat. She left her shopping in the entrance for Connor to bring up, like she always did. He sighed, but grabbed several bags at once. Abby unzipped her boots and slipped out of them, marveling at how fit he looked through the typical jeans and long- sleeved blue shirt... It had been a good idea to force him to the ARC's gym with her. When they had been younger, she had sometimes wished he looked a tiny bit more like Becker… without the hard soldier's attitude her friend had then, of course.

Jess had already pulled out glasses and was reaching for another can of cider when Abby reached the top of the steps. Matt had pulled Emily away from the drinks to choose a movie from the ones they'd rented, explaining to her that she wouldn't be able to remember the film after she drunk through enough of that delicious bubbly stuff. The Victorian woman seemed unconvinced, though... Abby smelled an exciting evening ahead.

"Hey, we're gonna watch _Amityville Horror_", Matt announced, holding up the DVD. Connor nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of it, dropping a can of tuna fish. "No way guys! I _told _you, that thing wasn't supposed to come in this flat!"

"You scared, Connor?" Becker asked with a smirk. Abby personally knew he loved horror movies. Actually, it had probably been his choice.

Her fiancé fidgeted. "Well, yeah! I watched the trailer on Youtube and – oh, anyway, we're not watching it!" he said pleadingly. Becker's smile widened, and he turned deftly to go help Jess with the glasses before her fumbling hands broke anything. Emily just raised an eyebrow. "I want to see it, and if you don't, just go to bed. More of that drink for me, then." Matt's eyes widened into a look of horror behind her back, and he frowned at Connor. Abby could picture him thinking, _Connor, stay here and that's a direct order_... Her boyfriend flinched away from the two time travelers' glares, muttering, "Okay, okay… whatever…"

Abby struggled to keep her laughter down and moved to Connor's side, slipping an arm around his waist and leaning on his shoulder. "Don't worry Conn, you've still got me." He automatically rubbed her arm, but his eyes were somewhere else, supposedly wondering how he would live through a horror movie like that.

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

"Aaaaaaagh!" Connor screamed yet again as a zombie suddenly grabbed someone's arm.

Jess didn't even flinch. Her head was buzzing pleasantly, and the screen swam before her eyes. She barely noted the grisly children and frightening story going on the TV. Her hand gripped a cold can of cider, which she sipped as Connor, beside her, covered his eyes. Emily, on the other hand, just laughed crazily at the scene.

The only other thing she noted was the warm, secure arm draped across her shoulders. Becker's head was tilting as he tried to focus on the movie, but he kept averting his own attention by reaching for chips or his drink. In the end, Jess had, in her drunkenness, simply grabbed his hand, which he squeezed. They were still in the same position. It felt good, though she doubted he would remember anything in the morning...

She groaned as the can in her hand made an empty sound. (They had given up on the glasses after Emily nearly swept them all off the counter.) "I need a new drink..." she mumbled, words slurring together. She ducked under Becker's arm and rose from the couch, swaying, and nearly toppled right over again. The empty can rolled away under the table.

Becker was up in a flash, hands on her shoulders. He wasn't nearly as drunk as she was...

"Here, Jess, you don't need any more. You've gone through too much of our pack already, just watch the movie okay?" his voice was faster and clearer than normal, his eyes bright, lips still wet from his drink... Jess found herself wishing she could taste the alcohol on them, an she began to lean forwards...

But Becker was just too clear-headed still. "Woah, Jess, just sit down again. There you go, that's it. We'll go to sleep after the movie's finished, it's almost three a.m."

Jess plopped down on the couch ungracefully. Her head was spinning out of control, it all blurred together, the TV, Emily's drunken shouts, Matt trying to calm her down... Everything but that face, that handsome dark face just so close to her! Jess leaned back against his chest, placing his arm around her. "Just...just let me be here with you..." she felt none of her usual embarrassment, though a small voice in her head said she should. But instead of pulling away, Becker just tightened his grip.

"Of course. We'll stay here however long you want."

**Okay, hastily written, but I hope you like it! :D Reviews make me happy. And now, those links I hinted at.**

**.com/watch?v=gnWAngDV9UQ this one's fun :)**

**.com/watch?v=fu-7CmUvWH8 and this one's emotional :')**

emily and jess go change-matt and becker escape and get lost


	8. Chapter 8

_Buzz, buzz._

"Emily? Are you okay?"

What an irritating voice. It sliced through the fuzziness in her head, making it ache. She turned over, pulling a pillow over her head.

"Really, you have to get up. We'll get something for you, all right? Come on now. Here..."

Whoever was speaking seemed to move away. Emily was glad. But the voice had left an echo in her head that pulsed agonizingly every time she moved even a little bit. She groaned, pulling the pillow harder on her head to smother the feeling.

_Buzz, buzz._

Also, she really had to go to the bathroom.

And then the voice was back. "Hey, sleepyhead – time to get out of bed. We've got some hot juice ready on the table, and a pill for the headache. Come on, you have to get up, you'll feel better." Warm hands pulled the blanket off her, making Emily shiver. Her body felt feverish. Bright light bloomed behind her eyelids as the pillow was wrested away from her grasping hands. Emily whimpered, reaching for anything else to hide behind. Instead, a hand gripped her fingers, squeezing comfortingly. It didn't make her feel any better though. Her head hurt so much!

_Buzz, buzz._

The hands swung her into a sitting position, and Emily covered her face with her hands. Even behind them and her closed eyes, the world spun around crazily. She felt like fainting. The person beside her had no sympathy, though, and pulled her hands down and helped her to her feet, ushering Emily along like a little child too afraid to get on a carnival ride. She suddenly became aware of how ridiculous she must look.

Opening her eyes was horrible. The bright early-morning light made her feel like she was having her head sliced open, and she bent over, feeling bile in the back of her throat. Beside her, Matt secured his arm around her waist and shoveled her off to the bathroom. Emily retched, but nothing came up, just empty air and dry coughs, which felt terrible. All the while, Matt kept his hand on her back, the other holding her hair away from her face and stroking her cheek with a finger. It seemed like hours before the retching stopped. Emily felt dry and sick afterwards, and her head still hurt and buzzed as if a swarm of angry bees were moving around in there. Matt waited outside while she used the toilet. Even after she relieved herself, she was only slightly aware as he moved with her into the main living space of the flat.

Everyone else was sitting around the table in various stages of condition. Abby looked tired but otherwise seemed to be fine, while Jess was sitting before a huge mug of steaming something, holding her face in her hands. She was still wearing her pajamas, and Emily noticed for the first time that she herself only had her underwear and a large red bathrobe. Matt must have put it on her at some point. He himself was only wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that supposedly belonged to Connor, as it had a Superman logo on it. Emily leaned against his chest, finger gripping at the edges of his shirt, feeling incredibly dull. "When does it stop?" she moaned, her voice muffled.

"In time, sweetheart – don't worry, it'll pass." Matt comforted her, kissing the top of her head. He then seated her across from a shirtless Becker, whose usually neat hair was a tousled dark mess. _He actually looks better like that... _Emily found herself thinking, still feeling dizzy and sick. The soldier looked pretty hot, to be honest. She could suddenly see why Jess liked the guy so much.

Though for once, the field co-ordinater was more focused on herself than Becker. "Oh my _god_", she was saying into her hands. "Why do I always have to get so out of control with this stuff? I just can't stop until I'm lying unconscious on the floor!" she groaned, fingers moving to slide through her ruffled hair, making it even more of a mess. Emily had seen Jess distraught before, but was surprised by the dark circles around her friend's eyes, and otherwise so not-like-Jess untidy condition. That pack of drinks had seemed so innocent at the beginning...

"Well, technically, you passed out in Becker's lap", Connor interjected perkily. He didn't seem as bad as Jess, though there were dark rings around his eyes too. The geeky guy was reading the morning's newspaper and sipping on a coffee. Jess just glared at him, though her cheeks grew red and hot, and she hid behind her mug. Becker glanced away, as if embarrassed. Emily just couldn't understand why it was so hard for the two of them to admit their feelings for one another! She was in a bad mood already, and little things like that were bound to ignite her. Like Jess and Becker! They were so _obvious_, they just had that connection, and neither seemed aware of it, the blind fools. She was lucky to have Matt. One from the future, one from the past – even they had found each other. So why was it so hard for two people who worked closely in the same place? After the beetle attack, everyone knew about them for sure anyway. Once she had even heard Becker's soldiers joking about it.

Abby passed her a mug from across Matt, smiling sympathetically. Her friend must have known just how bad she felt. "I think we'll be staying home for today, guys. Don't worry, I'll look out for you all and make sure you don't topple off the balcony", the blonde woman lovingly. Emily accepted the red-and-white Christmas mug and took a large gulp, feeling a surge of gratitude towards Abby. She really cared a lot for the whole team, maybe even more than the rest did. The microwave-warmed juice was scalding hot on her tongue, but felt great as it slid down her throat and into her belly, which rumbled loudly. Only now Emily notice how totally famished she was. She must not have eaten anything last night – or at least nothing had come up as she tried to puke into the toilet. "You hungry, Emily? Did you eat anything yesterday evening?" Matt asked with concern in his worried blue eyes. She shook her head slowly, then gulped down more of the hot juice. He immediately rose from his chair and put a couple of bread slices in the toaster.

"No wonder you feel so bad, Emily. If there's one thing worse than a hangover after drinking, it's a hangover after drinking on an empty stomach. Sheesh, you look worse than Jess", Connor commented, flipping pages. Emily threw back her dark curls. "We can't look that bad!" she said indignantly. "I mean, none of us did anything but drink a bit of cider!"

"Just a pinch more than a bit", Becker said. "And I can tell you now, you had the majority. How much can you remember of last night?" The soft but intense hazel eyes studied her reaction.

Emily tried, but noticed quickly that the details all blurred together. Actually, it was more than just details... the whole evening was fuzzy. How on earth did that happen?

"She was part of a highborn family in her own time... probably never even saw anyone, especially a woman, drinking like the street scum of that time."

Matt explained as he came over with her toast, spread generously with marmalade. "Oh, and it's called a hangover, you know. You've drunk so much alcohol that your body's in overload, trying to get rid of it all. That's why you feel sick and faint and all that, but trust me, it's a passing thing. You'll be fine." He set the bread before her, and the smell of apple marmalade filled her nostrils.

Emily raced for the bathroom as fast as her legs would carry her.

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Becker looked up from digging his running shoes from under Jess's bed as she appeared in the doorway. Like always, his breath caught at the sight of her. At about one in the afternoon, she had changed into casual jeans and a bright yellow top, which looked great on her. But what didn't? Becker shook his head to clear it. "Just looking for my runners", he said. "Connor must have hidden them here last night, it took me ages to figure out where they were..." his sentence trailed off lamely. Jess looked a bit shocked.

"You aren't seriously going on a run now, are you? You must feel terrible still! I do!" Jess moved over and grabbed his shoes from his grip and lay them by the door. She seemed genuinely unhappy. Or maybe she was still feeling aftereffects of last night, who knew.

The truth was, he _did _feel horrible. But all that drinking wasn't exemplary for a captain. He had mixed feelings after every one of his infrequent party nights, and if this was only the beginning... he didn't even want to think about what would happen when Emily threw her little birthday party. A run would clear his head of such thoughts. And anyway, he didn't want to get into unhealthy habits – everyone knew drinking gave you a beer gut, and Becker had always been secretly rather proud of being fit.

"Well, actually I was being serious..."

Jess wasn't happy at all. "Why would you have to go on a run, right now? Is something wrong?" she wasn't usually this forward, but it must have something to do with the fact that she was still in a bit of a hangover and a bad mood. Becker just sighed. "Oh come on, Jess... it's just natural to me." In truth, it wasn't feeling too natural right now. His muscles were screaming at him to just lay down and rest, and his head was still aching. Jess saw through him, of course. Nobody could do that like her.

"No it's not, Becker! You feel horrible... Just stay and we'll - we'll watch a movie or something. Something nice, not like yesterday, we rented a couple of those if I remember right," Jess went on. She was still standing by his runners, like she was going to stop him taking them."You'll get really sick if you go out now", she insisted, looking desperate.

Becker sighed. Jess was right, of course... and there was no way he could resist spending more time with her, especially when she asked him, with her own words, to stay with her. "All right then, whatever. I'll go tomorrow", he said, giving in. Jess smiled shyly, and he matched her grin and walked over to her. They left their room together to find Connor lying in the middle of the floor. He seemed to have tripped over something and was massaging his shin. Turning over in mock pain, he noticed the two looming over him. The geek gave a yelp. "Really Jess, you couldn't be any less romantic! 'Don't go on a run Becker, please Becker'. Just give it your best shot-"

His speech was cut short as Jess tried to slap his face, and he had to scramble to get away. Becker looked over to see her cheeks burning again. He quietly grabbed hold of her forearm. "Don't worry about him..." he muttered, trying to calm the girl down. What a pile of nerves she was! He was never drinking again, nor letting her either. Whew!

"He – was – eavesdropping - !" Jess struggled to get after Connor, but he was long gone, hiding behind a surprised Abby in the kitchen. Becker sighed in exasperation. Maybe he should have tortured himself on a run after all. "Jess, the movie? Remember?"

She looked up, eyes startled. Becker looked down to notice they were very close, and both his hands were around her waist, without him ever remembering putting them there. _Can this get any worse?_

Awkwardly, he tried to extricate himself, mumbling something that was half apology, half some inaudible muttering that even he didn't know what meant. But Jess had other ideas. Her hands clamped like iron down on his wrists, and she moved them to her shoulders. Better. Definitely better than the waist, Becker thought, and she wasn't retreating like a frightened deer (like he wanted to do). "Come one", she said softly. "Let's get started. What do you want to watch?"

_Anything, _Becker thought. _Anything with you, Jess._

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

"Are you _serious?_" Emily asked loudly.

"Shhh! Shut up, they'll think were stalking them!" Connor hushed her. Emily wrinkled her nose.

"But we _are _stalking them."

"I prefer to call it observing silently from the background." Connor peeked around the corner again. Abby was out with Matt, showing him around the block, which left him and Emily alone in the flat with their two awkward boyfriend-and-girlfriend-to-be friends. Leaving Connor alone in the apartment was never a good idea...especially if he had someone equally crazy to help him. Connor thought he and the Victorian woman made a pretty good team; he was intelligent and she was physical. Everything was pretty good now, actually. He thought he'd never live to see this day.

The day when Becker and Jess would be together, alone, sitting on her very own couch watching a movie! Titanic, by the look of it. And even better, Jess was curled against his shoulder and he had his arm around hers. Better still, neither of them was drunk. It was a dream come true!

Now, if he could just figure out a way to get them a little closer than that...

"Connor? How long are we going to be crouching here? They'll start wondering where everyone is," Emily said, interrupting his train of thought. He turned to face her, whispering. "Until something happens, of course! Have you ever seen anything so insanely brilliant, aside from when Jess saved Becker from the bomb, or when he saved her from the beetles? I mean, it's straight from a movie script, those guys are so meant for each other!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Something horrible has happened in my country (Finland). **

**THEY'VE CANCELLED PRIMEVAL! D:**

**Yup. The last episode I saw from TV was so3 ep7, they didn't even finish the season!:( The channel (SuomiTV) is instead showing Conan O'Brian **_**six or seven times a week. **_**I mean, really! Primeval once a week, Conan five or six times a week, would it really be that difficult? Its lame watching them from the computer and you can't imagine how much I wanted to watch the rest of the show! Aaaaagh! **

**Well, I checked the website and they've apparently got a couple complaints so they are finishing season 3 but that's it. Won't get to see Jess/Matt/Emily :(**

**Rant finished. Oh, and for some reason, Fanfiction left out the end of my last chapter. So I'll just add it to the start :)**

"_Connor? How long are we going to be crouching here? They'll start wondering where everyone is," Emily said, interrupting his train of thought. He turned to face her, whispering. "Until something happens, of course! Have you ever seen anything so insanely brilliant, aside from when Becker saved Jess from the beetles? I mean, it's straight from a movie script, those guys are so meant for each other!" He turned once again to watch the pair._

"_But really Connor-"_

"_What?" he whispered through his teeth, annoyed. When Emily spoke, he couldn't hear if Jess and Becker were saying anything. And her mouth seemed to be going all the time at the moment. Didn't she realize what a moment this was in the history of the ARC team!_

"_I'm starving." _

_Sighing dramatically, Connor got up from his crouch. "Again? We just ate an hour ago. Remember? My delicious tomato soup?"_

"_It didn't fill me up! Actually, it probably didn't fill anyone up at all". Emily glared at him. It really was unfair how women's cooking was so much more appreciated..._

"_Okay, okay, whatever. We'll stick some meatballs in the microwave, alright? Wouldn't want Matt to think I was making his girlfriend go hungry or anything", Connor said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and rounding the corner to the kitchen. He still kept an eye on Becker and Jess, though. Nothing was going to happen behind his back!_

_Amazing. Becker didn't even move when he and Emily entered the living space! Connor was sure the soldier had seen and heard them come. Maybe he actually was still drunk..._

"_Emily", he stage-whispered while digging the meatball package from the fridge, "I have a feeling that what we've all been waiting for might happen very soon."_

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

"...and that's the short cut to the A-Mart. It's a tiny store, so we have to go to the centre for proper groceries, but you can find what you need in an emergency. You got that all?"

Abby was just finishing with showing Matt all the important places around their house. It had been refreshing to get out of the hot flat and walk around a bit. Nobody had thought of putting on the air conditioner in the morning, and it was stifling, especially with all the extra people around. Plus, Abby wasn't sure how long she was going to keep her head with Emily, who was still having a bad case of hangover, and Connor, who was bouncing around the house like an Energizer bunny.

So the pair had left them, Becker and Jess together and taken a tour of the block, and they had just about finished and were walking back. Abby was itching to go shopping today, as she hadn't visited the new mall yet, but Jess and Emily were just too sick to go. At least she had Matt to keep her sane for the day.

"What do you think they've been up to?" Matt asked her as they walked side by side down the road. Abby shook her head, kicking at a pine cone. "Trust me, I wish I knew. But I think it'll definitely be for the better when we get back home."

"You can say that again", Matt said, smirking down at her. He had a secretive smile, Abby mused. Then again, the guy had had to keep a lot of secrets, bless him. He had actually turned out to be a good friend, despite it all. They turned down a small footpath to the front door, which Abby opened with her key. "I'm a little frightened to find out what's going on in here..." Matt said as a loud _thump _echoed from upstairs.

As it turned out, he had good reason to be scared. As Abby rounded the top of the stairs at full speed, the first thing she saw was Emily, shouting incomprehensible words from beside the counter and flinging something into the living room. A broken plate was at her feet, and the top of Conner's dark hair could be seen behind one of the couches as he tried to hide from her assault. Occasionally a pillow flew into the kitchen, but his aim was useless as always. Jess and Becker were nowhere to be seen, and on the screen, the _Titanic _was slowly sinking.

_Leave them in the flat for half an hour and this happens! _Abby sighed in frustration, rushing to get between the two combatants. Jess and Becker had had the good sense to retreat somewhere safe, so now she had to clean up this mess.

"Come on Matt, help me!" she threw over her shoulder at the time-traveler, who was standing useless at the top of the stairs. She hoped he could get Emily in hand, and went round the couch to find her fiancé cowering behind it. He looked up with an expression of horror, which changed quickly to relief. "Abbyy! You just saved me!" He bounced up to hug her tightly, lifting her off her feet. Abby just rolled her eyes. "What do you two think you're doing in here?" she asked, maybe a little more forcefully than she had intended. Connor dropped her immediately, eyes wide.

"I _swear_, it was a mistake! I was just reaching for a meatball and my hand knocked the edge of the plate..." he tried to explain. Matt came over, leading Emily by the shoulders, and Connor cowered behind Abby. "Guys, you really have to get out of this kind of thing. It's Jess's flat, and anyway, you're a little old for food fights, don't you think?" Matt said. He couldn't seem to keep a smile off his face, though. Obviously the situation was a funny one, and Abby was looking forward to hearing an explanation. Emily glowered, and Connor whimpered at her expression.

"Connor. Explain. Now."

Her boyfriend burst into a stream of speech. "I made Emily lunch for like the fourth time today and wanted my share and when I took a meatball off her plate it tipped over all over the floor, and the plate broke and she just went berserk and started throwing her food at me! I mean, it's just one meal!"

Emily's frown deepened. "I'd had enough of standing for your tricks today, Connor. It was my food!" she replied hotly.

Even Abby had to snigger at the two of them. Did they have any idea how ridiculous they looked? "Connor, you're such a child sometimes."

"But that's exactly why you love me", he said, grinning back at her. Abby just had to forgive him. Who could resist those pleading brown eyes? Not her, at least. She pecked him on the cheek. "You're right. But that isn't going to stop me from making you clean up the living room, though. Emily, you can do the kitchen. Sorry, I know how irritating Connor can be... so don't worry about it. You're probably not feeling too hot right now anyway". She smiled sympathetically at her friend. "I'll help you", Matt offered, and they set about cleaning up the remains of the quick lunch.

Problem solved, peace in the flat. For now.

Where were Jess and Becker when you needed them?

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

"Wow. This is...cool. Really cool!" The little field co-ordinater spun in a circle, slowly taking in her surroundings.

Becker had never imagined he'd see Jess standing there where she was. He must be crazy to bring her here... but it had seemed like a good idea then.

_His _doorstep. _His _flat. Jess. In his flat.

Becker took off his shoes and made his way through the living room to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he pulled out a jug of lemonade and poured them both a glass. On his way back, Becker switched on the fan, and it slowly began to turn with a soft whurring sound.

It was the middle of the day, sweltering hot, and the sun was beating down right through his windows. The normally cool flat felt like a desert with furniture. What a way for Jess to see his place for the first time!

Becker placed the glasses on a table, sitting across from Jess on a comfortable grey couch. They reached for the drinks at the same time, fingers brushing for a tiny moment. The touch of her skin felt like an electric shock, and she blushed behind her glass, but Becker pretended not to notice. "The pizzas will probably be coming soon", he commented, sipping the lemonade. It tasted wonderfully cool.

"Yeah, I suppose. What a mistake, ordering pizza on a day like this!" Jess wiped her brow with the back of her hand, overdoing the effects. The corner of Becker's mouth twitched. She was wearing some sort of red skirt-and-top assemble that showed off her long skinny legs and arms, and looked insanely great on her. Becker found that extremely hard to ignore. He took a sip.

"I hope you don't mind me being here, by the way... I mean, you probably didn't want to go to the mall again," Jess said. Becker looked at her to see she was wearing a worried expression. Really? Was she seriously asking him that question?

"Of course not, Jessica. I would have left you at the mercy of those two mad people bunking in at your place", he answered, smiling at her genuinely.

"Hey, don't call me Jessica! I thought you were rid of that habit already!"

"It's not a bad habit in my opinion."

Jess harrumphed, frowning at him. "And anyway, Connor and Emily aren't mad. I mean, at least not most of the time..."

Becker snorted, almost spitting out his drink. _Now that would have been embarrassing._ "Spend a couple afternoons chasing dinosaurs with them, you might think differently... I told you of the time she drove us back to the ARC, right?" he said, still smiling a bit.

"Well, I was right there on the other end of the com link, if you remember", Jess said, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh. Right."

They chatted comfortably about the ARC, Becker trying to convince her of the craziness of their teammates until the doorbell rang. Jess immediately grabbed the money off the low table between them, still laughing at something he'd said, and answered, paying the foreign pizza man. She returned carrying two flat cardboard boxes, balancing them like a waitress. This time, she sat beside Becker on the grey couch, setting the pizzas before them. "Mine is the Hawaiian, there's yours... really, how can you get that down? Just meat?" she seemed amazed by his choice of fillings.

"And extra cheese", Becker said, pulling the lid up off his pizza. The delicious spicy smell of pepperoni filled his nostrils, and he dug in without further talk. On the rare occasions he ordered pizza, Becker always bought from the place two streets over; they sliced the pieces ready. Who felt like cutting their own pizza? He glanced at Jess's meal, raising his eyebrows appraisingly. "I, for one, can't get how you stand pineapple. Real meat is what a man needs!" Jess just waved away his comment. For a moment, they ate in silence. The fan had cooled his flat by now. Becker got up, refilled the glasses, sat back down beside Jess, a little closer than a moment ago. Just a little... Their arms touched at some points, tanned skin against porcelain, but he tried not to mind. Things were so much easier without Connor around, Becker mused to himself.

Jess finally pushed her pizza box away, a good third still left. "Ohh my god, that was good. I just can't get any more of it down. How do you manage to eat so much of t? I mean, these things are huge!" Jess said, looking at the lone three pieces still left in his box. He'd save them for lunch tomorrow. Becker smirked at her. "Practice."

She slapped his flat stomach, which Becker barely felt. "Yeah right! Can't see much pizza fat around there." Her cheeks turned a slight hue of pink as she said it, but she didn't blush as crazily as usual. Becker took that to be a good sign. Trying to be casual, he swung his arm around the back of the couch, behind her shoulders. It felt like a natural thing to do. "Oh, don't worry. I burn it all off at the gym." As if to accentuate his words, Becker coughed into his arm, feeling little daggers rasping at his throat. He was probably going to be down with the flu next morning, despite it all...

Jess curled up at his side, leaning her head on his shoulder. She was probably tired already, having spent most of last night awake. Becker checked his watch, and was surprised to see that it was already nine. Time flew when he was with Jess, especially when they were alone like this. It had been a good idea to escape Connor and Emily when they could. The idea had been to only come to his flat for a little while to have something to eat without having to watch out for anything being thrown at them, but yes, time had flown.

They sat there for a long time still. Becker wasn't even overly conscious of her head, growing heavier and heavier on his shoulder. Before he knew it, the clock hands had moved another round again.

Becker glanced down to see that Jess had closed her eyes. He admired her for a moment: pale, symmetrical face, long lashes, perfect lips, peaceful expression...

"Hey... Are you asleep?" he asked, nudging her softly. Becker waited in silence for a long moment, but Jess didn't answer. He didn't blame her for falling asleep on him; he was feeling pretty tired himself, and still a bit hung over from yesterday, and stuffy and sick too. Softly, very softly, he laid her down, stretched across the couch. Jess barely moved, just muttered something in her dreams. Becker stretched, yawning himself, and fetched her a blanket from the cupboard in the spare bedroom. There was no way he was driving back to her flat, when they could just as well stay here. Jess was asleep anyway.

He was halfway into the living room before realizing how stupid it would look, her bunking on the sofa while he hogged his huge bed for himself. Becker sighed, and threw the blanket on the second couch to carefully put his arms around Jess, lifting her up. She muttered something again, arms reaching to cling around his neck. Becker felt his skin heat up where she touched.

He pulled back the covers of his own bed, and laid Jess there. She looked so beautiful, just curled up there where he usually slept. Becker leant over and, very very lightly, kissed her on the forehead. Then he quickly turned to go set up his own bed in the spare bedroom.

If Becker had looked back just then, he might have seen Jess smile.

**Whew! That was a bit of a job to write at first :D I think the end is okay though, my inspiration kicked in at the last moment.**

**Oh and today comes Primeval so3 ep9 from TV!3 *sings and dances in a circle***

**Anyway, hope you liked it! **


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